Nigerian gay activist, Aderonke Apata has been told she’s ‘not a lesbian’ and cannot be granted refugee status in Britain, simply because she has children from a previous heterosexual relationship. This is despite fears for her safety if she’s deported back to anti-gay Nigeria. Aderonke Apata, 47, came to Britain in 2004 and is an award-winning LGBT rights activist.
Yesterday, she appeared in London’s High Court to appeal her case. She was accompanied by her fiancée Happiness Agboro and a group of gay-rights activists. Apata has gone as far as submitting footage and photographic evidence of her sex life to prove that she is homosexual, but the Home Office has refused to recognise her sexuality – arguing she can’t be classified as a lesbian because she has children from a previous heterosexual relationship. Nigeria passed a law criminalising homosexuality in January 2014 and it’s punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Barrister Andrew Bird, on behalf of the Home Secretary, claimed that Apata wasn’t “part of the social group known as lesbians,” although he conceded that she had “indulged in same-sex activity.”
“You can’t be a heterosexual one day and a lesbian the next day. Just as you can’t change your race,” he added during the hearing.
Apata’s barrister, Abid Mahmood, called these views: “highly offensive”. Apata’s fragile mental state also forms part of her case. She has previously been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress. She attempted suicide while being kept in prison and facing deportation.
Mahmood added: “There is evidence of the genuineness of her case, that she will be picked out as a lesbian if she is returned.”
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